Blind
by themoonlightdragon
Summary: Tamarin knows the meaning of the word "color," but she'll never be able to see it. She knows the meaning of "friendship," but she'll never get to experience it. At least, that's what she thinks. That's before she meets bubbly, happy Kinkajou. Tamarin's story, long kept to herself, is told in this tale of a world without sight.
1. Kinkajou

**Kinkajou**

Stumble.

 _Ouch!_

"Look at her. She's so weird!"

"She can't see? She really can't see?"

Tamarin stumbled over her own talons. She'd never be able to keep track of where was where or what was what, and she wasn't about to get any help, either. The queens didn't care about what she looked like.

"Hey weirdo, you're about to bump into a tree!" Said the first voice.

 _What's a tree?_ Tamarin wondered again. No one was there to tell her what was what, because the RainWings didn't keep track of her eggs. Tamarin didn't know what a mother was. Parents weren't a RainWing thing.

But what kept Tamarin from walking forward was that she did know what _bump_ meant. _Bump_ meant the painful scrapes, scratches and wounds on her underbelly from walking into things. _Bump_ meant _scrape, snap, ouch!_

"Hey, leave her alone!"

It was a happy voice, full of glee, but with something else, too. Anger.

"Can you really not see?" The voice asked.

"N-no," Tamarin whispered. She didn't know what seeing was. She had no idea what blue was, what color was green, or what in the world was yellow. She told an orange and a mango apart by their texture and scent.

"Can you change your scales?" The voice inquired.

"Change?"

"Change their color."

"Color?"

"Oh," said the voice, realization dawning. The voice changed. "What's your name?"

"Tamarin," said Tamarin.

"I'm Kinkajou," said the voice. "What are those gashes on your underbelly?"

"From bumping into things," said Tamarin.

"Oh, you poor thing!" Kinkajou gasped. "You don't know how to fly around stuff because you can't see them! That must really hurt." Tamarin felt a cool talon on her underbelly.

"C'mon, Kinkajou, leave the freak alone," said one of the voices.

"But she's hurt, Anaconda," Kinkajou insisted. "She has no one to show her how to do things. Just look at those gashes on her belly. Yowch!"

"Suit yourself," said Anaconda nastily. "Just don't get too attatched, 'cause soon she'll be banished from the rainforest because of her weird scales!"

Tamarin heard stomping and guessed that the two mean voices had left.

"Don't worry," Kinkajou soothed. Judging by her voice, Tamarin guessed that she was about a year older than Kinkajou. But the little RainWing was still willing to help her.

"D-do I have weird scales?" Tamarin asked self-consiously.

"No," said Kinkajou defensively. "They're the most beautiful blue. And your underbelly is a pretty gold."

"Blue? Gold?" Tamarin asked quietly.

"Well, they're colors. Everything is a different color," Kinkajou said, struggling to explain.

Tamarin thought. "What's a tree?" she asked, remembering how one of the voices had said, _you're about to bump into a tree!_

"Um..." Kinkajou took Tamarin's talon in hers and drew carefully on the ground. Tamarin saw a picture in her head of what she'd drawn. A long, thick stick, and a big circle at the top, she somehow knew.

"The long line is the trunk," said Kinkajou. "Stand up!" Tamarin obeyed. She felt a talon on her back, guiding her to walk. Kinkajou took Tamarin's talon and placed it in midair.

Wait, not in midair. She felt something going up. It was rough and hard. "This is the trunk of a tree," Kinkajou explained. "Up here- okay, fly upwards a little, don't worry, I won't let you hurt yourself- these are the leaves. That's the round part you drew." The leaves were softer and broke in her hand.

Tamarin panicked. "I broke it!" She dropped a little and landed on the ground. Pain on her underbelly.

"It's okay," Kinkajou soothed. "It's supposed to happen."

"SUUUUNTIIIIIIIME!"

Normally, Tamarin would follow the sounds of stomping talons to the suntime platforms and curl up on the ground, unable to fly to the platforms. But today Kinkajou guided her to a small hammock.

"Th-thank you," said Tamarin. "No one's ever done that for me before."

"Of course," said Kinkajou. "I gotta go now. See you later!" Tamarin heard the sounds of flapping wings, flying away. Kinkajou had left.

Tamarin fell asleep peacefully for the first time since... well, ever. She couldn't see anything, but dreamed of feeling that smooth "dirt," the rough "trunk," and the crumpling "leaf." She dreamed of Kinkajou's voice, saying _you're the most beautiful "blue". And your underbelly is a pretty "gold."_

It was the first time in a long while she'd dreamed of something good. She was usually haunted with words like _weirdo!_ and _freak!_

Tamarin had a feeling things were about to change.


	2. Missing

**NOTE: I'm currently accepting OCs. I can't guarantee I'll use them, though.**

 **~fantasytwin0930**

* * *

 **Missing**

Tamarin was exhausted. She'd been at the royal gardens all day, and it was evident that Queen Fruit Bat had been there. The flowers were wilted and it smelled like burnt rubber. She'd had to spend all day cleaning it up.

But finally she was finished. She peeked at the sundial in the center of the gardens. The sundial said it was half past two. That meant she'd better start flying towards the old banyan tree. She was supposed to meet Kinkajou there at three.

Tamarin got there only bumping into two trees. In the past year, Kinkajou had always been by her side. She'd helped her learn her way around the rainforest and develop keener senses of smell and touch. And she'd gained a lot more than that. She now had confidence and a great friend.

She'd even learned to change her scales when she was relaxed. Or at least Kinkajou had told her that. "Just relax," she would soothe. "Relaxation is the key to camouflage."

But when she got there Kinkajou wasn't there. She could tell because everything was silent. If Kinkajou were here, she'd hear leaves rustling from Kinkajou hopping from foot to foot. And when Kinkajou was there, the air got a bit hotter, as if she were radiating heat like a SandWing.

Kinkajou was probably just late. But images filled her head with worry: Kinkajou got abducted by those creepy NightWing guys every dragon talked about, she decided she didn't want to be Tamarin's friend anymore, she heard other RainWings talking rumors about Tamarin and believed them.

The last one wasn't that improbable, actually. Dragons tended to talk about her. They'd look at her eyes and jump back, then make secret faces at each other.

Tamarin hated secret faces!

And worse were the whispers she'd heard, and the name-calling. She was all to familiar with the words "weirdo," "freak," and "moon-eyes". Only she didn't know what a moon was. Yes, she knew that there were three of them, and she knew what full moons meant. But she didn't know what it looked like, or what it meant to "light up the sky."

Kinkajou had taught her comebacks, or how to ignore them, but sometimes her anger just bubbled over.

 _"Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I'm deaf!" Tamarin had yelled at Anaconda, after she'd heard the dragonet jeering to a friend with a husky voice- probably Toucan._

 _"I wasn't talking to you, freak-eyes!" Anaconda snarled._

 _"Hey, leave her alone," Kinkajou had said._

 _Toucan had groaned. "Here comes your weirdo friend, freak-eyes," she said nastily._

 _"C'mon, Tamarin, let's go," Kinkajou had said, pulling her away. "Let's go play somewhere else. Toucan and Anaconda don't know what they're talking about."_

Now Tamarin hopelessly slumped down against the banyan tree, waiting for Kinkajou to arrive. It must have been half past three now, and Kinkajou still hadn't arrived.

She felt a skitter of tiny feet scampering from her shoulder to her stomach. Tamarin hugged the fluffy lump, whose fur was easily recognizable as her pet sloth. She'd named her Mango, because her fur smelled like mangoes, and she didn't know what the little sloth looked like.

Mango wrapped her arms around Tamarin's neck.

Tamarin waited... and waited... and waited. Finally she stood. It had to be five o' clock and she'd given up all hope of Kinkajou coming. She carefully flew back to the rainforest village.

"Hello? Hello?" She asked. "Has anyone seen Kinkajou?"

Her first ask wasn't so great. "What's it to you, dragonet?" He growled, turning away. The next two just ignored him. The fourth was Anaconda, who called her 'freak-eyes' and shoved her to the ground. It wasn't till the seventh dragon till she had any luck.

"Hello? Have you seen Kinkajou?" Tamarin asked anxiously.

"Oh," said an unpleasant voice. It was Bromeliad if she wasn't mistaken, Kinkajou's venom trainer. "Kinkajou's little friend. Ran off in the middle of venom training, probably to annoy me."

"That doesn't sound like Kinkajou!" Tamarin cried, walking forwards to keep up with Bromeliad.

"Go away, dragonet," Bromeliad growled.

"But I need to find her!" Tamarin cried. "What if something happened to her?!"

But Bromeliad was already gone.


	3. Blind

**Blind**

When she smelled the banana-y scent of her hyper friend, Tamarin leaped onto her. "Where have you _been!?_ " Tamarin sobbed. "I was so _worried_ about you!"

Kinkajou heaved a sigh. It wasn't an _oh, no, not Tamarin_! sigh. It was a _yes, someone missed me!_ sigh. "Thank goodness you actually knew I was gone! Unlike _someone,"_ she added pointedly.

"Who?"

"Coconut," Kinkajou sighed. "I mean, I get abducted by NightWings for two weeks and he doesn't notice!"

"What?!" Tamarin yelped. "Really? Are you serious?"

"They've been abducting RainWings, and they're all waiting to be rescued," Kinkajou explained excitedly. "Except for Bright, Tapir, and Orangutan." Her voice dulled sadly. "They're... gone."

Tamarin gulped. Bright and Tapir had been just part of the crowd, judging her for her eyes. But Orangutan was always friendly; he never made secret faces, and he was always friendly when she passed him by. He'd been barely past dragonethood himself.

"But Magnificent will never let you go back there," Tamarin reasoned.

"That's why we're getting a new queen," Kinkajou said firmly.

"A new queen?" Tamarin asked, confused.

"A permanent one," said Kinkajou. "Her name is Glory and her egg was stolen when she was still in it and also, she kinda maybe sorta just challenged Magnificent for the throne so you gotta come right now now now right now."

"What?!" Tamarin yelped as Kinkajou dragged her through the forest. It wasn't long before ran into a tree. "YOWCH!" she cried, rubbing her sore head. But they'd reached the village. The air was hotter than usual, and dragons pushed against her.

"I choose... Jambu," called out a voice.

"That's her brother," Kinkajou whispered to a very confused Tamarin. "They did the venom test.

"She's choosing four other dragonets to help her," she continued, "since Magnificent is getting the other queens to help her." Tamarin felt a jump in her chest. Realization was just dawning on her.

"I choose Mangrove," Glory continued. Her voice was wavering, but she was doing a good job of hiding it.

"I choose Kinkajou," she added.

"Me?!" Kinkajou squealed. "Yes!" She turned to Tamarin. "Did you hear that? Glory chose me!" Tamarin heard her flapping up to join Glory.

"And I choose... Tamarin."

Tamarin felt as if she'd been punched in the chest. "Me?"

"I told her about you," said Kinkajou, and Tamarin felt a glow of pride. There was also a glimmer of guilt for thinking Kinkajou had deserted her.

"Let her change it," Mangrove pleaded.

"You heard her, she made her decision," Magnificent said sharply. "Someone give Tamarin a push in the right direction."

"Why, what's wrong?" Glory asked.

"Nothing," said Kinkajou fiercely. "It's just that... Tamarin is blind."

"I can do it!" Tamarin called, feeling a sharp talon give her a push. She flapped hesitantly up into the air. "Let me try, please." She blushed, knowing that everyone was looking at her and her freaky eyes. "Your Majesty," she added to Glory.

Tamarin could hear Magnificent swell with a deep breath.

She joined the dragons standing up at the front. "Tomorrow at noon," Magnificent announced. The crowd broke.

"Congrats, Tamarin!" Said a squeaky voice. It was probably Magnolia, one of the dragonets who had always been nice to her. "You'll do great."

"Have a good rest, freak-eyes. It'll be your last before being banished from the rainforest," said Anaconda, her voice full of venom.

"You're shivering," Kinkajou whispered.

"I know," Tamarin said. She turned to Glory. "I'm honored to help you, Your Majesty."

"Just call me Glory," said Glory. "Kinkajou told me you work at the gardens?"

"I do," said Tamarin, knowing she was just making small talk. "What was the prison like? Why were they holding you captive? I just found out. I've been looking everywhere for Kinkajou." She clung tightly onto Kinkajou's arm.

"They wanted to do experiments on us," Kinkajou butted in. "They wanted our venom. They fed us the most horrible charred black things that tasted like ash. They chained us up in lava prisons!"

"Uh, yeah, what she said," Glory laughed.

A thought popped into Tamarin's head. "Are you that RainWing that showed up with all those other dragons?"

"Oh, yeah, I am," Glory said. "Why, have you met any of them?"

"Just the SandWing," said Tamarin. "She radiated heat! It was kinda cool. She shook my talon and said, 'I'm Sunny. Nice to meet you.'"

"Oh, yeah, Sunny's really friendly like that," Glory said.

"C'mon, Tamarin, it's suntime," said Kinkajou. "You want to get your rest, it's a big day tomorrow." She helped position Tamarin and from there, she was able to fly off to her hammock without bumping into anything.

The day had been a blur and she didn't exactly know what had just happened, so she tried to Analyze Your Feelings. That's what Kinkajou said to do whenever Tamarin didn't understand anything.

1\. Her heart felt like it was about to burst. She was proud that she'd been chosen to help with the challenge.

2\. She had a lump in her throat because she had a sickening feeling that it was all going to go wrong. She just knew she'd let Glory and Kinkajou down, and it would be all her fault if they didn't win.

3...

Tamarin yawned and her eyelids drooped, but she couldn't sleep thinking about the challenge. _"Get a good night's sleep, freak-eyes. It'll be your last before being banished from the rainforest,"_ said Anaconda's vicious growl in her head.

* * *

 **Magnolia is a submission from** Anonymous.


	4. The Challenge

**The Challenge**

"Get up get up get up get up!"

"Tamarin felt a glossy snout on her shoulder. "Wasamatter?" She mumbled into her hammock.

"Today is the Royal Challenge!" Kinkajou squealed. It all came flooding back to her. Kinkajou had been abducted by NightWings. She and a dragonet called Glory escaped. Glory was stolen from the rainforest as an egg and wanted to help the others trapped on the NightWing island because "someone should care when a dragonet goes missing".

Kinkajou had decided to help, but the queens were too lazy to do something, so Glory challenged them to become queen. She had been allowed to choose four dragonets to help her. Kinkajou had mentioned Tamarin and how much she hated Fruit Bat, and chose her for the challenge, not knowing that Tamarin was blind.

She sat up. "What time is it? We have to get up!" She cried, flaring her ruff. Kinkajou put her arm around Tamarin and the two gently flew off.

"Good luck," said Magnolia as they passed her by.

"Well if it isn't the weirdo and her little pet sloth," Anaconda drawled. "Ready to fail in the challenge, Kinkajou?" Toucan laughed maniacally.

"You know, you're one to talk about pet sloths," Kinkajou retorted. "You let Toucan follow you everywhere." She nudged Tamarin forwards.

As they flew off, Tamarin heard Anaconda call, "Bye, freak-eyes!"

Tamarin bowed her head as they entered the village. They flapped to the ground, and Handsome proceeded to tell the rules. "There are five contests," he said. "Each dragon will perform one of these." He listed the five contests, none of which sparked Tamarin's interest. Except one.

"I'll do the camouflage test," whispered Glory.

"Excuse me-"

"I can do the fruit gathering," said Mangrove.

"Excuse me-"

"And Jambu, you can do the flight test, right?" Glory said.

"Yeah."

"Can I do the flower gathering one?" Tamarin peeped.

"Oh." Glory's voice dropped.

"I can do it, I'm a gardener," pleaded Tamarin. "I know the smell of that flower. I can do it, Your Majesty. Please, let me!"

"Well, your e-"

"Please let her do it, Glory," said Kinkajou. "Please!"

"Okay," said Glory. "But that leaves you to do venom targeting, and I got the impression from Bromeliad that you weren't exactly... perfect at that."

"That's because Bromeliad is a slow old baboon," said Kinkajou confidently. "I can do it."

"We've made our decision," Glory called.

"Okay," said Handsome charmingly, "Then let the fruit-gathering commence!" Mangrove stepped forwards, his talons making a ruffling noise in the leaves below.

"On your marks. Get set. Go!"

Mangrove raced off and Tamarin waited. And waited. And kept waiting. She could feel Kinkajou fidgeting next to her. There. That sweeping sound. Was that him? No.

The talonsteps. It was him!

"Time," called Handsome, sweeping up Mangrove's berries. "Eighteen."

Magnificent snorted.

Handsome then began counting Queen Dazzling's berries. "Sixteen," he said. "Mangrove is the winner."

Kinkajou, Tamarin, and Jambu started cheering and whooping. Magnificent growled. "Sixteen? I could have sworn there were nineteen," she growled. "You ate them!"

"Sorry."

"Did you say there _were_ nineteen?" Glory snapped.

"Huh?"

"You said there were nineteen," Glory accused. "You collected them beforehand, didn't you? You cheated!"

"How dare you accuse me of cheating?" Magnificent said, affronted. "You have no proof!"

"I-" Glory started.

"Let it go," Tamarin whispered. "Mangrove won anyway."

"Neeeeeeext," crowed Handsome. "The flying competition."

Jambu flapped up. Kinkajou whispered, "He's pink." Tamarin, not knowing what any colors looked like, but nevertheless having been trained on what they meant- every RainWing was taught- relied on Kinkajou to tell her what colors other dragons were. Apparently she was dark blue- which meant calm, and gold- which meant fearful. No wonder Anaconda and Toucan picked on her- she was showing everyone how scared she was.

"Aaaaaaand," Handsome said, probably looking down at his talons, guessing from the direction of his voice. "GOOOO!"

They were off! Tamarin felt the wingbeats in her scales. _Beat, beat, beat, beat,_ _whoosh!_

"Unfair!" Glory yelled.

"Unfair!" Mangrove bellowed.

"UNFAIR!" Kinkajou screeched.

"What happened?" Tamarin whispered, frightened.

"One of Exquisite's sloths," Kinkajou explained, enraged. "It choked Jambu!"

"They wouldn't be nearly smart enough to do that," Magnificent said, ruffled.

"Yes, they would!" Said Exquisite. "But they would never." Magnificent probably shot Exqisite a look, because Exquisite started talking to her sloths. "Don't worry, Auntie Maggie isn't mad at you. She's just in a bad mood because we have to win this challenge."

"AUNTIE MAGGIE?" Magnificent cried.

"Neeeext competition," said Handsome, cutting up the argument.

"Your turn, Tamarin," Kinkajou whispered, nudging her forwards.

The next few minutes were a blur. Tamarin couldn't pay attention to anything that happened because her insides had turned to jelly. All she knew was that she was after that flower.

She sniffed. It was always the same flower, the same smell.

"Tamarin! Watch out!" Kinkajou screeched. "Fruit Bat is following you!"

"Get away!" Tamarin yelled, stumbling back.

 _There._ A smell that was different from all the rest.

Tamarin snatched up the flower bouquet and held it in the air.

"We won! We won!" Glory screamed.

"You did it, Tamarin! You did it!"

Tamarin grinned as her team came up to her. She felt Kinkajou's warm scales next to her, hugging her tight. She knew, Anaconda and the other dragonets could tease her all she wanted.

She knew the names others called her. Monster. Weirdo. Freak-eyes. Loser.

But now, in this moment, none of it mattered. She had won the competition, beaten the dragon she despised most, and was being adored. Anaconda could call her names all she liked.

Freak-Eyes had won.


	5. School

**The School**

It had been several weeks since the Royal RainWing Challenge. Glory had become queen, but with a price.

Kinkajou.

She had been hit by Grandeur's venom. In a stroke of luck, Glory realized that she had the right venom to counteract Kinkajou's venom! This meant Glory and Grandeur were related, and therefore Glory was the rightful queen.

And _then-_ to top it all off, when Glory and her friends went to the NightWing village, the NightWings' secret home exploded in a volcano and their queen died! Glory was now ruling over the NightWing tribes as well as the RainWings.

Tamarin was currently weeping alone, hugging Mango, who was eating a mango.

No, wait. Not alone. She heard swooping wings.

"I know you're there," Tamarin said, squeezing Mango. "Leave me alone."

"It's Glory," said the dragon.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Tamarin gasped. "I didn't mean- Your Majesty, I- thought you were Anaconda- or Toucan- or- I'm sorry, Your Majesty."

"That's okay, Tamarin," said Glory. "I know you're still upset about Kinkajou, and it seems rude to ask you for help when you're still hurting for her, but my- my friend Starflight? He got blinded in the explosion, and once he gets better, he's going to need to learn to do stuff... blind."

Tamarin's eyes welled with tears. "Kinkajou could help you with that," she wailed. "Kinkajou taught me!"

"Oh, Tamarin," said Glory sadly. "I didn't mean to upset you. We just- need your help." Her voice cracked with emotion.

"Oh," said Tamarin. "I- I guess I'll help."

...

Tamarin had been helping Starflight for about a month now. A lot had happened. Kinkajou had recovered and was as bouncy as ever. She'd agreed to help Starflight sometimes, but thought it was better for Tamarin to teach him. It was easier for Starflight to learn because he knew what everything was.

But also- the war was over! Tamarin never really knew what the war was in the first place, but it was done, which was good, she thought.

"This is what a leaf feels like," Tamarin instructed.

"Um, Tamarin?" Said Starflight. "I wanted you to know, we, you know, the dragonets of destiny? We're starting a school."

"A school?" Said Tamarin, confused.

"Where you can learn to read and write," said Starflight.

"But, Starflight?" Tamarin paused. "I'll never be able to read. Or write."

"Well, Tamarin?" He said softly. "I'm going to try to invent scrolls that blind dragons can read, if you'd like to help me?"

Tamarin felt her heart jump up high in her chest. "How?" She said excitedly. "How will we do it? Will I learn to read?"

"Well," said Starflight, "We'll leave prints on the scrolls. We'll have each print stand for a letter. Then you can run your talons across the paper, identify which print it is, and eventually, learn to read."

"Learn to read!" Tamarin cried. "Learn to read! I'll help you, Starflight! I always wanted to learn to read." She hugged Starflight and he patted her on the back.

"And Kinkajou will go to the school, too," said Starflight, smiling. She could tell he was smiling from the way he talked. "She's really excited about it, and hoped you'd want to attend. You won't just learn reading and writing. You'll learn history and art and cooperation. You'll learn about all other types of dragon tribes."

"I know about other dragon tribes," said Tamarin. "SeaWings swim, and IceWings are cold, and NightWings are you."

"Yes, but you don't know much about them," Starflight laughed. "Like, who is the Queen of the SeaWings?"

Tamarin pondered, and then shrugged.

"Queen Coral," he answered her.

"Isn't she the one who writes all the scrolls?" Tamarin asked.

"That's right!" Starflight answered, twining his tail around hers. Tamarin had come to think of him as a mentor- she didn't just teach him, he taught her. And he watched over her, too. The last time Anaconda had teased her, Starflight had stepped in.

"A dragonet of destiny!" Toucan had squealed. Anaconda had smiled at him.

"I was blinded by the explosion, and this dragonet has been helping me learn how to live like this," he said. "You have no idea how hard it is to live like this, especially from birth. Tamarin has grown up, teased and alone for most of her life. So if you want to insult her, you insult me. Don't stoop so low as to insult a dragonet of destiny."

"We're so sorry-" Anaconda gaped.

"Don't you dare tease her again," said Starflight. "This dragonet has more bravery than you will ever have."

And they had walked away. "That was so cool!" Tamarin squeaked. "You're the best, Starflight!"

And now, here he was, inviting her to attend school and learn how to read. This was the best oppurtunity that she'd ever stumbled across.

Or so she thought.

Just a few minutes away, in the NightWing village, was a dragonet who was dreading going to the school. With the gift of foresight, this dragonet knew there were dark things ahead. What she didn't know was that in a few months' time, she would fail to save Tamarin's life.


	6. Scars

**OC admission is now closed.**

* * *

 **Scars**

Starflight dabbed at the blood on Tamarin's underbelly. Tamarin moaned in pain.

"I'm sorry," Starflight soothed, "that stalagmite was sharp, wasn't it?" Tamarin felt his gaze on her underbelly, knowing that he was staring at her scars. Surely enough, he asked, "Where did you get all those scars."

Tamarin flinched under his talons. Starflight clearly sensed her hesitation because he added, "It's okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"That's okay," Tamarin said hoarsely. "Those came from the days before Kinkajou."

"Before Kinkajou?" Starflight echoed, carefully patching the wound with a leaf.

"There used to be a time when no one would help me," Tamarin said, feeling a pang in her heart at the memory. "I wandered around, lost, and I bumped into a few things." She gulped. _Including Anaconda,_ she thought, embarrassed at the memory.

 _BANG!_ She had felt the impact. Then she had heard Anaconda's voice for the first time. "What d'ya think you're doing, freak-eyes?" Anaconda had snarled. Tamarin sometimes wondered if she hadn't bumped into Anaconda on that day, maybe her life might have been a bit better.

"Tamarin!"

"What?" Tamarin jumped, pulled back into reality.

"I said, that sounds horrible. Good thing you found Kinkajou when you did," Starflight said. Tamarin shuddered, wondering what would have happened if she had never met Kinkajou.

Starflight, sensing Tamarin's fear, said, "Come with me, into the library." He gently guided her to the library. Tamarin thought it was ironic how just a few months ago, she was guiding Starflight through the rainforest, and now he was guiding her through this strange new mountain.

Starflight settled Tamarin into a leafy chair. Tamarin heard a cheerful voice say, "Starflight! You're back!"

Tamarin recognized the voice as Fatespeaker, Starflight's friend who adored him. "OOO," she squealed, "I foresee that you need a scroll read to you! Is that it?"

Starflight stiffened next to her. "Fatespeaker, you know your visions aren't real," he said crossly.

"Okay, but they feel real," said Fatespeaker, ruffling through some scrolls, "Maybe it's just me. How about _The Lost Princess_?" She added, picking up a scroll.

"Sure," said Starflight, squeezing Tamarin's shoulder. He adjusted the leaf bandage over her eyes, the one Glory had made for her.

"There," Glory had said, knowing that Tamarin had been endlessly teased for her blank-looking eyes, "Now dragons won't make fun of you for your eyes." Tamarin had now been able to roam free in the rainforest without being teased. Of course, the RainWing Royal Challenge had helped with that, too.

"Glory, you're the best!" Tamarin had squealed, hugging Glory. "You make everything better!"

"I'm just glad I could find a dragonet I could help," smiled Glory, who allowed Glory, Mangrove, and Tamarin to call her simply Glory rather than Your Majesty. She'd tried to tell Jambu he didn't have to call her Your Majesty, but he called her that anyway, simply for the fun of it.

Fatespeaker started to read the scroll. It was about a young SeaWing who had been separated from her family. Her parents, the king and queen, tore apart the oceans to find her. Eventually they found her and had a joyful reunion and ate octopus.

"Octopus, bleh," Fatespeaker added at the end.

"Yeah, gross," said Tamarin, feeling her own stomach rumble.

"Hungry?" Starflight smiled, passing her a small fruit. Tamarin felt the smooth consistency and recognized it as a banana. She unpeeled it and took a bite.

"Thanks, Starflight," she said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

...

Tamarin was back in her sleeping cave, a small, cozy room since there was only one dragon in it. Tamarin wondered what her clawmate would be like. Maybe a friendly MudWing, or a cheerful SeaWing.

She climbed up in her hammock and felt a furry clump above her head. It was Mango, who had been allowed to stay to keep her company before the other students arrived.

Mango skittered down her arm and curled himself up on her belly. Tamarin rubbed his back, feeling her eyes droop.

 _Tamarin was at Jade Mountain. She was running to greet the other RainWings. She gasped! Kinkajou wasn't among them. It was Anaconda, Toucan, and two more RainWings she identified as Jaguar and Cockatoo._

 _"Who are you?" They hissed, advancing on her. She tried to back up, but when she did, her bandage sizzled away. "IT'S FREAK-EYES!" They screeched._

 _Tamarin tried to run, but she was glued into place. A hissing voice said, "That's my clawmate? A tiny RainWing?" And then stabbed her through the heart with her venomous tail. Tamarin, dying, tried to shoot venom at the SandWing, but they landed_ splat-splat-splat _on Kinkajou's wing._

 _"Hoooow could yoou dooo this to meee, Tamaaaaaarinnn?" Kinkajou howled, collapsing upon the floor. As the SandWing's venom burned in Tamarin's veins, Glory appeared._

 _"You're banished from the RainWing kingdom forever," she declared._

 _"You beast!" Starflight cried. "It was a mistake to ever invite a blind weirdo to this school."_

 _"FREAK-EYES, FREAK-EYES," chanted Anaconda, Toucan, Jaguar, Cockatoo, the SandWing, Queen Glory, and Starflight. Kinkajou's ghost floated above her._

 _"You kiiiiilled me, Tamarin," Kinkajou bellowed. "Why did I ever take you under my wing?"_

 _And she joined in the chanting, too. "FREAK-EYES, FREAK-EYES!"_

 _And Tamarin collapsed upon the floor, dead._

Tamarin sat up with a jolt. She felt Mango on her shoulder now. "Just a dream, just a dream," Tamarin reminded herself.

Something told her what the future held for her was a whole lot worse than that dream.


	7. Fire

**Fire**

Tamarin's clawmate was a SandWing, older than even Starflight, and she didn't like Tamarin.

"H-hi," Tamarin stammered, "I'm Tamarin." Her insides froze up.

"You blind?" The SandWing asked.

"Yeah," said Tamarin. The SandWing's thoughts couldn't have been more transparent. She knew what Onyx was thinking: _Now they expect me to watch over a disabled RainWing, like I care about some cripple, At least she won't be able to tell what I'm doing._ "It limits my eyes, but not my mind," Tamarin added.

"I'm Onyx," said the SandWing. Tamarin disliked her already. She was making a secret face, Tamarin could tell.

"I gotta go," said Tamarin quickly. "Going to try and find my friend."

"Do you need help?" Onyx asked, in a voice that clearly said, _you say yes, you drop dead on the cave floor._

Tamarin shook her head and gently trotted out of the caves, dragging her claws carefully on the walls. She heard Onyx sigh behind her. Tamarin didn't know exactly where she was going, but she found herself in the library.

"Is that you, Tamarin?" Starflight asked.

"Yes," whispered Tamarin.

"Everything okay?" Starflight wondered, pulling Tamarin into a tight hug. Thoughts swarmed in her head but she pulled away defensively. She didn't want Starflight to think she was weak.

"I was just wondering if Kinkajou was in here? I was looking for her."

"Actually, she was," said Starflight, "but she seemed pretty busy when she left. Why don't you sit down? I've made progress on the blind scrolls."

Tamarin settled herself on a pile of leaves. Starflight gently placed her talon on the paper. "Can you feel the difference between the first ink and the second?" He asked. Tamarin nodded- the first ink was rough, the second smooth and runny...

 _..._

Tamarin looked through the maps. She'd become fascinated with the history of Pyrrhia ever since her first history lesson.

She heard the scrape of NightWing talons. It wasn't Moonwatcher, Kinkajou's new friend- her talonsteps were lighter. It wasn't Mightyclaws; his footsteps scraped longer. Either Bigtail or Mindreader, she thought.

A moment later, heavy SkyWing footeps stomped in. Tamarin was puzzling why no one was coming in- it was time for the lesson to start- when Tamarin smelled smoke. _Fire! Fire!_ Her head screamed. She ran behind a scroll rack to hide her and knocked it over by accident.

Then she felt the heat, beating down upon her scales. _I'm burning I'm burning!_ Why couldn't death be easy?

Tamarin slipped into the bridge between consciousness and unconsciousness, her mind still dimly moving. _What's going on? What's going on? Why am I not dead yet?_ She felt soft talons dragging her out and heard a familiar sob. "Tamarin! Tamarin!" Kinkajou shrieked, "You better be okay!" Kinkajou's talons snatched her up. "You'd better be okay or I will tie you to a tree full of hallucinogenic frogs!"

Tamarin tried to tell Kinkajou she was okay, but her mouth couldn't move. She could still feel the heat burning on her scales, and the smoke, choking her. It was then that she completely lost consciousness.

 _z_ z **z** Z **Z** Z **z** z _z_

Tamarin woke to someone crying at her bedside.

"It was me, Tamarin," sobbed the little MudWing. "I set the fire."

It was Sora, the MudWing from her winglet and the last dragon she would expect to have set the fire. A moment later, her brother rushed in. "Sora, we gotta go! C'mon, Sora, let's GO!"

And Sora rushed out.

Tamarin blinked and lost consiousness again.

 _z_ z **z** Z **Z** Z **z** z _z_

Clay was injecting the tranquilizer into her scales. Kinkajou was sobbing. "Tamarin, are you okay? Tamarin!"

Tamarin tried to call out, but the combined force of her burns and the tranquilizer stopped her. Finally she dropped out for good. The relief from her burns was immediate.


	8. SeaWings

**SeaWings**

Tamarin blinked awake. "Where's Kinkajou?" She mumbled.

To her surprise, the voice that answered her was not one she expected at all. It was Pike, the SeaWing from her winglet.

"She left?" Tamarin squealed, trying to sit upright. She felt a smooth webbed talon hold her down. Tamarin slapped at Pike's talon, scrambling to sit up.

"Pike, you're scaring her!" Said a second voice, this one scratchy and high.

"Sorry, Princess," said Pike to the second one- undoubtedly Princess Anemone, Tamarin presumed. "She left, with the other dragonets from the Jade Winglet."

"Except Turtle," said Anemone.

"Except Turtle. He stayed behind," Pike explained, "And he told us where the other dragonets are."

"Where are they?" Tamarin pleaded, images flaring up in her mind. Kinkajou could be anywhere by now! It was just like Kinkajou to run off! "How much time has passed?"

"Just a few days," Pike soothed. "And they're in the rainforest, with Queen Glory."

"Just like my boring brother to stay behind," Anemone muttered sourly.

Tamarin's mind instantly relaxed. Everything was okay, as long as Kinkajou was with Queen Glory. No harm could come to her then. "But why?"

"Sora, the MudWing from your winglet, meant to kill Icicle in the explosion!" Said Anemone excitedly, moving on from the complaints about Prince Turtle's boringness. "But Icicle escaped. Turns out she murdered Sora's sister during the war!"

Tamarin flinched. She hadn't known there even was a war before Queen Glory's reign. Trapped inside her own head, she had always thought the three moons revolved around her.

"Then Icicle escaped," Anemone continued. "She was trying to kill Queen Glory!"

"WHAT?" Tamarin exclaimed, breathing fast. If Queen Glory died, this life where blind dragons could live in peace would end. Kinkajou would never be the same, and Tamarin would lose her wonderful queen.

"It's okay," said Anemone. "Kinkajou and her friends stopped Icicle and she's under tranquilizing darts."

 _Like me,_ Tamarin thought, clawing at a small bandage on her arm.

"But what happened to me?" Tamarin asked. "What's going to happen to me?"

"The other dragons in the explosion died," said Pike, with only a shred of remorse in his voice. "But you're going to live. It was a dragonflame cactus which exploded. Basically a mini-bomb."

"But why are you here?" Tamarin cried, desperate to puzzle everything out. "Why do you care about me?"

"Some SkyWings destroyed our Summer Palace with those dragonflame bombs," said Pike, his voice full of loathing. "They attacked us and destroyed our Summer Palace." His voice cracked.

"It was horrible," said Anemone sadly. "We want to help you." Her voice lightened. "But you can't tell anyone about the Icicle thing. I only know because Tsunami told me."

"Uh-huh," said Tamarin. Her mind returned to Kinkajou. "But how am I supposed to know Kinkajou's okay?"

"Oh, Tamarin, don't worry-" Anemone stopped. "Are you okay?"

Tamarin was suddenly racked with pain. She rocked slowly as the pain hit her. Her burns throbbed. "I-I-I," she stuttered, suddenly unable to speak.

"Quick, Pike, get Clay!" Anemone said urgently, pushing him away. Tamarin heard the cool slap of webbed talons running out of the cave.

The next thing she knew, Clay was injecting the tranquilizer in again. The last thing Tamarin felt was Anemone's talons, landing softly on the bandage over her eyes. "Clay," she whispered, agitated, "Why can't I heal her?"


	9. Without Her

Hi, fantasytwin0930 here! Sorry this chapter took so long, I've been busy.

Unfortunately, we only have a few more chapters to go. Review if you are going to miss Tamarin and her friends.

* * *

 **Without Her**

It had been several weeks since the Jade Mountain explosion, and Tamarin was well enough to walk and attend her classes. Pike, who was in her winglet, contentedly followed her everywhere like a bodyguard.

One day, she and Pike and Anemone were in the underground river. Tamarin liked the underground river because it gave her instant relief from her burns.

Tamarin felt the smooth ripple of water touch her scales. That meant Anemone was slowly easing into the pool. "Tamarin," Anemone said, her voice cracking.

Tamarin felt her heart sinking. "What happened?" She asked, full of dread.

"It's Kinkajou," Anemone blurted. "She- she got hurt."

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Tamarin panicked, her heart in her throat, her stomach in her talons; the little world inside her head shut down. She couldn't feel anything; she was to panicked.

"It's okay, it's okay," Anemone soothed.

"TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED," Tamarin commanded. Suddenly she changed her mind. "Wait- no, don't tell me. I don't think I want to know. But is she okay?"

"She's fine," said Anemone, "She's just unconscious."

"But she'll be better soon?"

"Yeah." Anemone put her talons gently on Tamarin's shoulders. "But all this worrying is no good for you, Tamarin. Think of something else."

"Like what?" Tamarin pouted.

"Why don't we visit Starflight and see how he's doing with your scroll project?" Pike suggested. The two SeaWings were the only ones Tamarin had told about the scrolls-that-blind-dragons-can-read thing. Anyone else would have laughed or made fun.

Tamarin pounced on the opportunity. She knew for a fact that the two SeaWings would prefer to stay in the underground pool, but were trying to cheer her up. "Sure, let's do that," said Tamarin.

Pike and Anemone gently pulled her out of the pool and guided her talon to the wall. Feeling the smooth wall helped her to orient herself. Anemone flanked her other side to protect her from bumping into other students. _Kinkajou,_ her mind whispered.

"Anemone and Pike?" Asked Starflight, looking up.

"Getting better at that," smiled Tamarin.

"Tamarin! You too?" Starflight cried, delighted. "I haven't seen you for the longest time... since the accident..." His voice cracked. "Are you feeling better?"

"Much better," said Tamarin. _Kinkajou,_ her mind panicked. "Thanks to Anemone and Pike. They've been helping me get around."

"Really?" Starflight asked, surprised. "Aw, Anemone! Pike! That is so sweet of you."

"It's not like that," said Anemone modestly. "We just... we suffered through the Summer Palace attack. We know what it feels like... maybe not like this, but we know what it's like."

"That is so kind of you, Anemone," said Starflight softly. "Your mother would be proud."

"Ew, no, don't get into all that sappy stuff," Anemone said, wrapping her wing around Tamarin. _Kinkajou,_ Tamarin worried silently. "We just wanted to see how the blind-dragon scrolls are coming."

"Oh, yes!" Said Starflight. "I have a new idea. Fatespeaker!" He yelled.

Tamarin heard footsteps and the sound of a rustling scroll. Then she felt Starflight's cool talon on hers, placing her talon on the scroll. She felt... a bump? "I call it bump-reading," Starflight explained.

"Bump-reading?" Tamarin echoed.

 _Kinkajou._

Tamarin's whole life revolved around the hyper, happy, bouncy dragonet. What would she do without her?


	10. 2018 Special

**2018 Special**

 **Hi guys! I thought I'd make a special for the new year featuring other character's points of view. Fantasy, my online avatar and author's-note-writer, decided to interview other characters about Tamarin.**

* * *

 **BEFORE JADE MOUNTAIN ACADEMY**

 **Anaconda**

So what, the little freak is famous now? Unfair. I know it's not like I was nice to Tamarin, but she's freaky! Is it my fault the moon-eyes is blind? No! She was unpopular; she was a freak. Now she's popular. Is that my fault?

Yes, I know the names I call her. Freak-eyes, moon-eyes, they're all for fun. It's not my fault she's so sensitive. Besides, they fit her better than 'Tamarin' any day.

RainWings have a habit of rejecting those who are different from us. Is it my fault I'm a RainWing? It's certainly not my fault she's blind.

 **Toucan**

She's really freaky. She has these weird, pale blue eyes, and they're all cloudy. She has these creepy scars all across her stomach. I wouldn't go near her if I were you.

Yeah, Ani and I called her a few names. So what? She's got her little friend telling her she's a saint. She needs something to counterbalance all that.

Yeah, she's weird. Like, she can't change her scales on purpose. Like, if you say, change your scales green, freak-eyes, she won't be able to do it!

Can I go get a banana?

 **Kinkajou**

Tamarin? She's my best friend!

Yes, she's a little different. But why be normal? Normal is boring! Tamarin is funny. I say funny is better than normal.

She needs someone to encourage her, though. She's not very sure of herself. That's why she has me. And she always will have me.

Forever.

 **Glory**

She's a shy little dragon. She needs to meet other dragons who will be nice to her. That's why I'm sending her to school. That and the fact that Kinkajou sent me seventeen notes in her sloppy little handwriting demanding me to let her come.

I think she's a lot more heroic than she thinks she is. She was amazing with those flowers, winning that royal challenge.

 **Starflight**

She's a delicate little thing. But she's lived through more than any dragon could imagine.

Except me.

 **AT JADE MOUNTAIN ACADEMY**

 **Onyx**

What, my boring clawmate?

Go away. She's probably hanging out with those drippy SeaWings.

You're not looking for her, you want me to tell you about her?

Go away, weird RainWing.

 **Pike**

That poor little RainWing. She's already blind and some maniac sets off a bomb.

She's resilient, she is. She's survived more than I can say most dragons have lived through in their whole entire lives. The Summer Palace attack, I lived through that. That was hard. And she survived.

She's strong.

 **Anemone**

Tamarin is a little different. But she's a really great dragon. She's strong; she's bold. And she's _blind._

 **Qibli**

She's a lot smarter than most dragons would think. She has her own opinions and they're really great. If people would just listen to her, they'd learn she's more than just an injured blind RainWing.

 **Kinkajou**

She's so strong. I can't imagine how I could have done what she's done. I'm proud to have her as my best friend.

 **Starflight**

She's a wonderful dragonet. She's helped me through so much... and I've helped her.

* * *

Tamarin is funny. **She's a lot more heroic than most dragons think she is.** _She's lived through more than any dragon could imagine._ **She's resiliant, she is.** _She's strong; she's bold._ She's more than just an injured blind RainWing. **_She's a wonderful dragonet._** I'm proud to have her as my best friend. **She's helped me through so much.** _She's a really great dragon._ That was hard. And she survived.

 _And she's blind._


	11. Realization

**Realization**

Tamarin paced her room. With Onyx missing, it seemed too large.

The words were bouncing inside her head. The words that changed everything. The words from that clever SandWing. _Kinkajou is awake and well. Kinkajou is awake. Kinkajou is well. Kinkajou is awake and well. Awake... awake and well..._

As long as Kinkajou was alive, it would be alright.

And even better, Anemone had healed her. The SeaWing had come back to school a few days ago and told Tamarin the whole story. Tamarin thought they'd have been friends now, but Anemone seemed to have some sort of friction with Kinkajou, because she always talked stiffly when she talked about the RainWing.

But another memory was pounding inside her brain. Another memory that had happened a few weeks ago. A memory with a hard desicion attached to it.

Anemone was an animus.

Anemone was an animus, and she hadn't told her. Of course, Tamarin understood. She wouldn't have told anyone either.

 _Except maybe Kinkajou..._

It must have been hard, keeping a secret like that. Tamarin could never live like that. But what would she do with her animus magic?

A few weeks ago, she'd have done anything to see. Now... she wasn't so sure.

She had Pike and Anemone, both of whom really cared about her. She hadn't done anything to deserve their admiration, but she considered them both really good friends. And she had Kinkajou, who was always there to help her.

She had Moon, Kinkajou's new friend. The NightWing dragonet seemed just as nervous as Tamarin had been to come to Jade Mountain, and she seemed really nice; plus she'd tried to save her from the history cave fire, and even though she failed, the effort was nice.

She had Queen Glory, a wonderful and just queen who always helped her and never doubted her, even with her eyes.

She was pretty lucky.

But still, when Anemone came up to her with the offer, she didn't know what to say.

"I could heal your eyes," said Anemone. "I could make you able to see!" She grasped Tamarin's talons in hers. "I want to help you."

Tamarin felt as if her heart had stopped. She could see! She could...

But would she want to?

Of course she would! She could change her scales properly; she could see Kinkajou and Anemone and Pike; she would know what a tree looked like!

"I'm sorry," said Tamarin. "But... I can't accept."

"What?" Anemone gaped.

"Nothing against you, Anemone," said Tamarin. "It's the best offer I've ever been given. But... I was born blind. I was meant to be blind. It's just the way I am. Taking it away is taking away a part of myself."

"Wow," said Anemone softly. "I never thought of it like that."

Tamarin thought of Starflight, sitting alone in the library, working on his blind-dragon scrolls by himself. She thought of the way things were now. Was it actually better?

She thought of the feeling she got every time she touched Anemone's talons. They had a tingly, electric feeling in them. With her eyes... would they always have that creepily unnatural feeling if she healed them?

But later, as Tamarin paced her cave, she wondered if she had made the right desicion.

Strangely enough, she'd come across a realization. She had been blind in more than one way. She'd always wanted to be able to see, but that longing caused her to miss what she should have been able to see without eyes.

She had Anemone. She had Pike. She had Glory and Kinkajou. All of them cared about her enough to watch out for her.

All of them _cared_ about her.

She was going to be okay.

* * *

 **Hi guys! Unfortunately, this was the last chapter. Thank you to everyone who favorited and followed this story, and everyone who supported. I'm really sad to have to leave Tamarin behind.**

 **So, goodbye, Tamarin and Blind characters. I'm going to really miss you.**


End file.
